Move over Toyota, this Japanese electric pickup takes aim at Ford’s F-150 Lightning
A new Japanese all-electric EV pickup is set to hit global markets, and it’s not a Toyota. Isuzu will unveil its first 100% electric pickup truck, the D-MAX BEV, later this month. The rugged-looking 4X4 EV will compete with Ford’s F-150 Lightning in overseas markets.
A new Japanese EV pickup is launching
After introducing its new D-Max truck in Bangkok last fall, Isuzu President Shinsuke Minami said the company is “actively taking efforts to realize a carbon-neutral society.”
Going forward, “Isuzu plans to produce a BEV pickup truck in Thailand,” Minami explained. Thailand is the Japanese automaker’s largest market for pickups and demand for EVs is soaring in the nation after introducing new incentives.
Although Thailand is key, the D-MAX is sold in over 100 countries and regions, including Europe, Asia, The Middle East, and Central and South America.
Isuzu’s pickup was the second best-selling model in Thailand in January, behind only Toyota’s Hilux. Toyota unveiled its first “electrified” version of the best-selling Hilux in December. However, it still featured a small hybrid system attached to a 2.8L diesel engine.
Toyota showcased an electric version, called the Hilux Revo BEV, in Thailand in 2022, but little has been revealed since.
Although the electric Toyota pickup was spotted testing in Australia, the boss of Toyota Europe’s light commercial vehicles division, Emmanuel Beaune, said in December, “It’s too early to comment” on an electric Hilux. He added, “There are some investigations.”
While Toyota continues to delay, Japanese rival Isuzu is plowing ahead. Isuzu will officially unveil the new D-MAX BEV truck at the Bangkok International Auto Show, starting March 27.
Isuzu’s new EV pickup is built for “a broad range of commercial and passenger vehicle needs.” The model keeps its rugged exterior design and “tough underlying performance expected of pickup trucks,” according to Isuzu.
The D-MAX BEV features a 4WD system with newly developed e-Axles on the front and rear for improved performance on rough terrain.
Isuzu’s first EV pickup features a “high towing capacity” of over 7,700 lbs (3.5t) and 2,200 lb (1,000 kg) payload. The electric truck is powered by a 66.9 kWh lithium-ion battery. A 40 kW front and 90 kW rear motor provide up to 130 kW (174 hp).
| Isuzu D-Max BEV specs | |
| Drive System | Full-time 4×4 |
| Battery Type | Lithium-ion |
| Battery Capacity | 66.9 kWh |
| Max Output | 130 kW (174 hp) |
| Max Torque | 325 Nm |
| Max Speed | Over 130 km/h (+80 mph) |
| Max Payload | 1,000 kg (+2,200 lbs) |
| Max Towing Capacity | 3.5t (+7,700 lbs) |
The Japanese automaker plans to launch the new D-MAX BEV pickup truck in select European markets, such as Norway, starting in 2025. It will also roll out in the UK, Australia, Thailand, and other countries.
Isuzu’s electric pickup will follow Ford, which delivered its first F-150 Lightning in Norway last month. Ford is taking the Lightning overseas with plans to launch in additional European markets, including Switzerland.
Electrek’s Take
Toyota is missing an opportunity here. Rival Japanese automaker Isuzu looks to beat Toyota to market with its first all-electric pickup.
Although the D-MAX was behind Toyota’s Hilux in sales, it was almost too close to call, with 9,354 Hilux and 9,325 D-MAX trucks sold in January. Toyota’s hesitation could put it further behind as EV makers like BYD are quickly gaining market share in the region.
BYD’s Dolphin and Seal EV were the sixth and seventh best-selling models in Thailand in January. After entering the market in July 2022, BYD already accounts for a third of the nation’s EV sales. It also held a 4% share of new vehicle sales, including gas-powered and electric.
Other Chinese automakers, like Geely’s Radar, are beginning to roll out in overseas markets. According to CarNewsChina, the Radard R6 EV pickup had 61.5% of the electric pickup market in China last year. Radar began exporting R6 models late last year.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
EV sales kept up their momentum in December 2024, with incentives playing a big role, according to the latest Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book report.
December’s strong EV sales saw an average transaction price (ATP) of $55,544, which helped push the industry-wide ATP higher, according to Kelley Blue Book. The December ATP for an EV was higher year-over-year by 0.8%, slightly below the industry average, and higher month-over-month by 1.1%. Tesla ATPs were higher year-over-year by 10.5%.
Incentives for EVs remained elevated in December, although they were slightly lower month-over-month at 14.3% of ATP, down from 14.7% in November.
EV incentives were higher by an impressive 41% year-over-year and have been above 12% of ATP for six consecutive months. Strong sales incentives, which averaged more than $6,700 per sale in 2024, were one reason EV sales surpassed 1.3 million units last year, according to Cox Automotive, a new record for volume and share.
(My colleague Jameson Dow reported yesterday, “In 2024, the world sold 3.5 million more EVs than it did in the previous year … This increase is larger than the 3.2 million increase in EV sales from the previous year – meaning that EV sales aren’t just up, but that the rate of growth is itself increasing.”)
Kelley Blue Book estimated that in December, approximately 84,000 vehicles – or 5.6% of total sales – transacted at prices higher than $80,000 – the highest volume ever. KBB lumps gas cars and EVs together into this luxury vehicle category, so this is where Tesla Cybertruck is slotted.
However, Tesla bundles sales figures of Cybertruck with Model S, Model X, and Tesla Semi(!) into a category it calls “other models,” so we don’t know for sure exactly how many Cybertrucks Tesla sold in Q4, much less in December. However, Electrek‘s Fred Lambert estimates between 9,000 and 12,000 Cybertrucks were sold in Q4, and that’s not a stellar sales figure.
What will January bring when it comes to EV ATPs? What about tax credits? Check back in a month and I’ll fill you in.
To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Tesla is now claiming that Cybertruck was the ‘best-selling electric pickup in US’ last year despite not even reporting the number of deliveries.
There’s a lot of context needed here.
As we often highlighted, Tesla is sadly one of, if not the most, opaque automakers regarding sales reports.
Tesla doesn’t break down sales per model or even region.
For comparison, here’s Ford’s Q4 2024 sales report compared to Tesla’s:
You could argue that Tesla has fewer models than Ford, and that’s true, but Tesla’s report literally has two lines despite having six different models.
There’s no reason not to offer a complete breakdown like all other automakers other than trying to make it hard to verify the health of each vehicle program.
This has been the case with the Cybertruck. Tesla is bundling its Cybertruck deliveries with Model S, Model X, and Tesla Semi deliveries.
Despite this lack of disclosure, Tesla has been able to claim that the Cybertruck has become “the best-selling electric pickup truck” in the US in 2024:
It very well might be true. Ford disclosed 33,510 F-150 Lightning truck deliveries in the US in 2024 while most estimates are putting Cybertruck deliveries at around 40,000 units.
Those are global deliveries, but Tesla only delivered the Cybertruck in the US, Canada, and Mexico in 2024, and most of the deliveries are believed to be in the US.
However, there’s essential context needed here, as we highlighted in our recent ‘Tesla Cybertruck sales are disastrous‘ article.
First off, Tesla had a backlog of over 1 million reservations for the Cybertruck that it has been building since 2019. This led many to believe Tesla already had years of demand baked in for the truck and that production would be the constraint.
However, based on estimates, again, because Tesla refuses to disclose the data, Cybertruck deliveries were either flat or down in Q4 versus Q3 despite Tesla introducing cheaper versions of the vehicle and ramping up production.
Again, that’s after just about 40,000 deliveries.
Furthermore, with almost 11,000 deliveries in Q4 in the US, Ford more likely than not outsold Cybertruck with the F-150 Lightning in Q4.
Electrek’s Take
Tesla is in damage control here. There’s no doubt that it is having issues selling the Cybertruck.
Inventory is full of Cybertrucks and Tesla is now discounting them and offering free lifetime Supercharging.
Tesla is great at ramping up production, and it’s clear the Cybertruck is not production-constrained anymore. It is demand-constrained despite having over 1 million reservations.
Again, those reservations were made before Tesla unveiled the production version, which happened to have less range and cost significantly more.
The upcoming cheaper single motor version should help with demand, but I have serious doubts Tesla can ramp this program up to more than 100,000 units in the US.
As a reminder, Tesla installed a production capacity of 250,000 units annually and Musk said he could see Tesla selling 500,000 Cybertrucks per year.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports9 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway